Yes, it turns out there are Patriots fans far, far outside of the reach of New England's six states, and the team spoke to one of them on Thursday.

From the middle of New England's locker room, using a cell phone and an iPad (for video), members of the Patriots chatted with NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who hails from Needham, Mass., and is a loyal Patriots fan. She's also currently aboard the International Space Station serving as Commander of Expedition 33.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft, punter Zoltan Mesko and tight end Rob Gronkowski all took time to chat with Williams as Patriots vice president of public relations Stacey James held up an iPad so the two sides could see each other.

With Gronkowski, Williams compared her equipment to what the Patriots wear on Sundays.

"Its not that difficult for us," Gronkowski said. "Arent your suits way heavier than ours? Yeah, our armor is about five or six pounds. Its a lot less than 300 pounds."

Williams has been on her current mission since July and should be on the space station through November.